The signs of practice are not in extraordinary experiences but in extraordinary awareness of ordinary experiences.

We need to learn to let our emotions pass through us like waves, without getting caught in their undertow.

The truth you believe and cling to makes you unavailable to hear anything new.

Awareness is always with us. We don't need to create it or achieve it - we just need to recognize what's already there.

The mind itself is the maker of all happiness and misery; yet beings do not understand this and blame external conditions.

Even death is not to be feared by one who has lived wisely.

In my youth I studied, in my prime I practiced, now all my doubts are cleared.

Right practice is steady practice. Whether you feel lazy or diligent, just keep practicing.

The more we care for the happiness of others, the greater our own sense of well-being becomes.

If your mind is empty, it is always ready for anything; it is open to everything.

The future is completely open, and we are writing it moment to moment.

The path of practice moves from faith through understanding to direct realization.

The teaching of the Buddha is based on two truths: conventional truth and ultimate truth. Without understanding the relationship between these two, the deeper meaning of the Buddha's teaching cannot be understood.

Wisdom is not about accumulating knowledge, but about seeing through all knowledge.

The reason we struggle with insecurity is because we compare our behind-the-scenes with everyone else's highlight reel.

The most profound meditation is to think nothing at all.

The moment you note a thought, it disappears. The noting mind keeps the hindrances away.

Zen proposes its solution by directly appealing to facts of personal experience and not to book-knowledge.

The root of suffering is not in the world outside us but in our own minds.

The way to change others' minds is with affection, and not anger.

The nature of everything is illusory and ephemeral, those with dualistic perception regard suffering as happiness, like they who lick the honey from a razor's edge.

Meditation is not about achieving anything. It's about letting go of everything.

Craving and aversion are the roots of suffering. Observe them with equanimity.

Mindfulness is the quality and power of mind that is aware of what's happening—without judgment and without interference.

The ultimate source of happiness is not money and power, but warm-heartedness.

Zen does not confuse spirituality with thinking about God while one is peeling potatoes. Zen spirituality is just to peel the potatoes.

A flower falls, even though we love it; and a weed grows, even though we do not love it.

The path to liberation requires both understanding and practice, both pariyatti and patipatti.

The highest mantra is to be without deception. The highest medicine is to have few desires. The highest meditation is not to be attached.

The root of happiness is altruism — the wish to be of service to others.

The more you understand yourself, the more you understand the world.

Take into account that great love and great achievements involve great risk.

Everything that has a beginning has an ending. Make your peace with that and all will be well.